CVE-2026-78123Network attack vector

Remote daemon crash via uninitialized PKCS#7 pointers

Published Sep 11, 2026 · Updated Sep 11, 2026

Denial of service in strongSwan 5.0.2 through 6.0.7 allows remote attackers to crash the IKE daemon via a crafted PKCS#7 container. In verify_signature() and decrypt(), OpenSSL identifier getters can leave stack pointers uninitialized before later code dereferences them. The remote path requires an IKEv1-accepting server with the OpenSSL plugin loaded, and the reported consequence is a daemon crash.

CVSS severity8.7
High
EPSS probability0.41%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in strongSwan 5.0.2 through 6.0.7 allows remote attackers to crash the IKE daemon via a crafted PKCS#7 container. In verify_signature() and decrypt(), OpenSSL identifier getters can leave stack pointers uninitialized before later code dereferences them. The remote path requires an IKEv1-accepting server with the OpenSSL plugin loaded, and the reported consequence is a daemon crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-78123
Published
Sep 11, 2026
Updated
Sep 11, 2026
Vendor
strongSwan
Product
strongSwan
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.0.2 <6.1.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

strongSwan · strongSwanversion=5.0.2 <6.1.0

Published CVSS scores

7.5SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
8.7SUSECVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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